Standing in Awe

With Valentines Day approaching this topic only seems fitting.  However, it is not the reason I have been thinking about love.  Although I am not currently leading a small group I still receive the small group study on a weekly basis.  I'd like to say that I even open the email every week let alone read the study, but I don't.  However, I have been looking at them sense the start of the year.  In the first study it challenged the reader to write a six word mission statement for their life.  Easy right?  It was a really cool thing to think about though.  I sat for a while and just thought, "What do I want my life to be about?"  I thought a lot about my desire to serve the poor, my heart for social justice, my longing to see people come to know Christ, and it all boiled down to one thing: love.  So this is what my mission statement said: Risk everything in faith to show true love. I don't know if this seems obvious, simple, or insane to...

I know most bloggers, missionaries, and people in general would do some kind of "year in review" type post this time of year, but I simply don't want to.  Also, you can always go back and read the last year's worth of posts if you want to.  So instead I am just going to talk about the last month and the future a bit. Christmas As many of you know, I. Love. Christmas.  To the point of listening to Christmas music from November 1st all the way to Valentines day.  However this year I was not in the Christmas spirit.  A lot of things have changed in the last year, and not having a designated vacation time, as it was my first time not being a student over the holidays, combined with Satan's attacks of loneliness and isolation really hindered my happiness.  Despite these circumstances, I had the most perfect Christmas day.  I started the morning reading the story of Jesus coming to earth as a vulnerable infant by the light of the tree as I sipped my mo...